I have been finding that my milk gets sour after pumping, so I did some research on the lipase thing, stopped taking my fish oil, started scalding after pumping and storing the milk in glass. I would pump, scald, pour into glass, put in the fridge to cool and then to the freezer once cool. I left my 10 mo DS with my parents one time and he did take his sippy so I figured it was fine.

Last night my husband and I went to a brewfest, so I spent the last month pumping so that he would have enough for the whole night. He wouldn't take the bottle from the babysitter, hubby or me, and when I smelled the milk it was SOUR! Yuck. Luckily I didn't have as much beer as I had originally planned so was able to nurse him and he slept happily (he has been bothered by beer before).

What can I do so that I can leave him with a sitter in the evening? We rarely go out but I would like to have the option. I only get 1-2 oz per pumping session (once a day) so it takes me several days to build up a milk stash.

April 22nd, 2013, 06:43 AM

@llli*mommal

Re: Lipase...scalded, stored in glass and STILL sour!

Sour? :eyebrow

My understanding is that lipase creates a rancid or soapy taste, not a sour one. So my first though is to make sure that your freezer is cold enough, and that your milk is warmed up and sitting for minimal time before being used.

If that's not the problem, there is a much less common issue that could explain what you're seeing: milk oxidation. This is a really cool link on the problem in dairy cows: http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/liv.../cda20s02.html if you look through it carefully, you'll see potential avenues to explore- things like keeping the milk in a dark storage container, checking your pump for air leaks, not shaking the milk, making sure your water is free of certain ions...

April 22nd, 2013, 07:43 AM

@llli*ambrosegirl84

Re: Lipase...scalded, stored in glass and STILL sour!

It has had a "soapy" taste before, but this stuff just smelled...nasty. Hard to describe. I was so disappointed to have put so much work into pumping it (I usually never pump unless I'm planning to go out) and doing all the "extra" stuff. Some of it had been stored in our fridge freezer for a while, so that maybe made a difference.

April 22nd, 2013, 11:20 AM

@llli*mommal

Re: Lipase...scalded, stored in glass and STILL sour!

:( It must be really hard to slave over the pump and the stove and then have the milk turn yucky. I know I hung on to one last bag of freezer-burned, partially-thawed-and-then-refrozen milk for the longest long time, just because I couldn't bear to put all that hard work down the drain!

April 22nd, 2013, 01:18 PM

@llli*ambrosegirl84

Re: Lipase...scalded, stored in glass and STILL sour!

So, I got to thinking of what you said about milk oxidation and was wondering if this could be a problem....when I pump my nipple often ends up sucked up against the side of the flange, so I remove it and reposition it so it's in the middle. I don't turn the pump off, so I'm sure oxygen gets in there while I'm pumping.

Also...wouldn't the milk oxidize while it's on the stove scalding or when transferring it from pumping bottle to glass jar?

April 22nd, 2013, 02:26 PM

@llli*mommal

Re: Lipase...scalded, stored in glass and STILL sour!

I think minor contact with air isn't the problem- from that link, it looks like excess foaming and stirring is more of an issue. IDK if you've ever seen cows being milked, but the jets from a cow's teat are far, far stronger than the letdown from a human breast. And then that's getting pulled through a very strong machine, and poured through a filter into a large tank. It's much rougher handling than human milk receives, in general. Unless,of course, you're shaking the dickens out of your milk!

April 22nd, 2013, 03:11 PM

@llli*mercystreet

Re: Lipase...scalded, stored in glass and STILL sour!

Quote:

Originally Posted by @llli*ambrosegirl84

So, I got to thinking of what you said about milk oxidation and was wondering if this could be a problem....when I pump my nipple often ends up sucked up against the side of the flange, so I remove it and reposition it so it's in the middle. I don't turn the pump off, so I'm sure oxygen gets in there while I'm pumping.

I doubt this is a contributing factor -- this same thing happens to me all the time, since I put olive oil on the flanges so sometimes they slip a little and I have to reposition while pumping. It doesn't have any impact on my milk though.

How long are you freezing your milk before using, and how much air exposure is it getting? I know some folks prefer glass containers, but it's impossible to squeeze out all the air from a glass container the way you can from a plastic freezer bag ... so I wonder if the "sour" taste could just be freezer burn??

April 23rd, 2013, 08:47 AM

@llli*ambrosegirl84

Re: Lipase...scalded, stored in glass and STILL sour!

Perhaps. I have been messing with glass just because I had read that storing in plastic could cause the sour taste. Back to square one....I will try scalding, storing in a bag and freezing immediately in the deep freeze instead of the fridge freezer. Our deep freeze was inacessible for the past month or so, but now I can put the milk in there!